July 25, 2015 -
Dome Light Blues - I went out to start Mildred Thursday night
and her battery was so dead even the clock wasn't working. Having
just worked on the electrical system I was a bit nervous, but put the
battery on charge overnight. That didn't get it up enough to even
make the starter click, so I tried a spare battery that I charged last
night. That one did make the starter click - once. So I picked
up a new battery at O'Reilly's ($89) and the car cranked over fine.
I also discovered I had accidentally turned the overhead dome light on
when i was working on the brake switch, which is what had killed the
battery. Since I only have a 10 Amp charger, I am leaving the 3
year-old battery on charge over the weekend to see if it comes back up.
I used the old bad battery as the core.

July 20, 2015 -
Sending Regrets - As expected, the sending unit had gone bad.
I was able to pick up a correct new part at O'Reilly's down the street,
and didn't even have to climb under the car. The sending unit sits
on top of the master cylinder, which is accessible from above in the
engine bay. A $16 fix. Mildred has her lights all back now.

July 19, 2015 -
Brake Break? - Turns out the culprit was a fuse - but it keeps
blowing. Working through a couple of fuses, I tracked the issue down
to the brake lights. I expect the issue is the switch itself, but
will have to diagnose it out later. And ALL of the lights except the
left headlight go through that one fuse! I guess the one headlight
was kept separate as a safety feature. Anyway, should be a simple
fix.

May 30, 2015 -
On The Road - Mildred got a chance to stretch her legs today on
a 70+ mile 'Square Car Tour' around back country roads. We had 27
vehicles on the drive, which is led by the oldest car participating.
Today's leader was a 1914 Model T Ford that set a very respectable pace.
There were four 1937 vehicles on the run: A 1937 Dodge wagon that
dropped due to a dead electrical system, a 1937 Imperial that's starter
went out and had to be taken home, a 1937 Packard that was faltering due
to a suspected faulty coil, and Mildred. As it turns out, Mildred
lost her brakes lights and turn signals - probably a fuse, but she ran
great and got me home with no issues. This was a dry run for June
20, when I plan to take her up to Richmond for a show.

April 5, 2015 - Wired -
That freaky spark plug wire short to the heater hose has been bugging me,
so I finally installed some modern insulated wires with a full cover on
the spark plug end. I also put in some new AC R45 spark plugs.
The old ones looked good, but with all the hot running and trouble with
the distributor, I figured a new set would not hurt. She fired right
up afterwards thanks to my doing everything one wire at a time.

March 29, 2015 - Highway Happiness
- Mildred and I covered more than 60 miles today, mostly at
55-60 MPH, and she never broke a sweat. The temperature gauge stayed
at 180 degrees, which is better than she has been since I got her.
The car ran smooth and strong, and starts up with just a bump of the
starter. It has been a long road getting her overheating
straightened out with some unexpected detours, but it is worth it to have
her running properly again..

March 28, 2015 - Squared Up
- Our annual Square Car Tour is coming up next Saturday, and
Mildred is almost ready. I got the correct gasket in for the
exhaust, but still have some leakage. There may be an issue with the
manifold, but it is not enough of a problem to worry about right now.
The coolant continues to stay where it is supposed to, and she started
right up and ran well. I plan to replace the plug wires and plugs
just because it's been a while for the plugs, and the wires have the
weird arc to the heater hose. I just got a complete Owner's manual
package with all of the tags and extra bits off eBay in like new
condition. It even has the radio tag to tell you how to use it that
hung on the knob when you bought the car. I plan to take her out to
my parents' tomorrow as a dry run for the Square Car Tour - her first good
drive in more than 10 months! I am hoping that the new
distributor and extensive cooling system work will have cured her from
running hot.

March 22, 2015 - Leaks fixed and not
- Mildred's radiator hoses were seeping despite tight clamps, so
I finally pulled them both off and coated the insides with RTV sealer and
used modern clamps. So far looks tight and dry. Then I
attacked the exhaust flange, which happily, appears to be the exhaust leak
culprit. The gasket was burned through on one side.
Unfortunately, the correct gasket was not available locally. I
ordered two online today, and did a makeshift repair with some more modern
thin gaskets that don't seal right just to have her running. I also
set the timing up a bit to compensate for ethanol on the advice of "Daddy'
Kenny Roach. It was amazing to have no trouble getting manifold
bolts off a 78 year-old car - thanks to the Roach's good work.

February 5, 2015 - Up and Running,
but Weird - The battery charged up this time (I suspect operator
error) and Mildred cranked up and ran. But she was missing badly!
This was something new, so I started checking under the hood. I
discovered that the #1 plug was arcing against the rubber heater hose.
Huh? I had to get a photo of that one. You can see the arc,
but how is it possible? As soon as I got clearance between the hose
and the end of the plug, the engine smoothed right out. Only one
thing left - Mildred has an exhaust leak that is getting worse - I can't
tell if it is the manifold gasket or the exhaust donut. I am hoping
for the latter.

February 4, 2015 - And Back In -
Beach Radiator did a beautiful job resealing the top tank (at no charge).
I picked it up last Friday, but ended up having to order a new water pump
gasket that did not arrive until today. I got everything installed,
only to have leaks at the upper and lower radiator hoses. After
messing with the original-style clamps with no success, I went over to
Advance and bought modern stainless versions that appear to have solved
the problem. However, Mildred's battery was too low to start her, so
I have it on charge and will check her tomorrow. I think she should
be good to go.

January 22, 2015 - Out Again -
I got the radiator out tonight and plan to drop it off at Beach Radiator
in the morning. The job was not quite as bad as expected. i
pulled the generator, water pump, left side support and left side hood
panel. With some heavy cardboard protecting it from the block, I was
able to maneuver the radiator out with no damage to car or radiator.

January 20, 2015 - Seepage -
In order to verify the leak was where I thought it was, I topped off
Mildred's radiator, dried everything off, and started the car so it would
heat up. Sure enough, coolant started seeping out about 4 inches to
the right of the upper radiator hose inlet. I checked it twice more
to be safe. Although removal is a pain, I am going to pull the
radiator and take it back to the shop to have it repaired properly.
No point in getting stranded later on because I tried to jury-rig such a
critical item.

December 26, 2014 - 'Cool' Car! -
I just came back from a long run on the Interstate - 55 mph there and 60
mph back, and Mildred never went over 190 degrees!! That's better
than she ahs ever been as long as I have owned her. Best guess is
that the advance went out on the distributor, which prevented the
timing from adjusting with engine RPM. That made it run hot - and it
appears the radiator was clogged after all and cleaning it out did some
good. Anyway, just have to fix the hairline seepage in the top tank
seam to finish her up. This is a big relief, though - I was looking
the possibility if $800-$900 for a new radiator!

December 21, 2014 - Timing Marks -
The timing still wasn't quite right as the engine would kick back slightly
when i started it, but I got the car out last Sunday for a test drive.
It is running a good 20 degrees cooler, but still starts to run hot on the
interstate. I needed to set the timing, but couldn't find any timing
marks. Enter the factory manual - the timing marks are on the
forward side of the flywheel visible through a window in the block behind
the distributor. Handy, right? (I am being sarcastic). I
should have called her previous humans, who had conveniently marked the
timing range with white paint. I used an external 12-volt battery to
power a timing light, and got her set properly. I actually had to
shift the plug wires around on the cap to set things up. Still
running cool at idle - have to get her out for another Interstate test run
ASAP.

December 13, 2014 - New Distributor -
I tested the vacuum advance, cleaned the points, and replaced the 70
year-old grease in the NOS distributor and then swapped it out.
Mildred fired right up, and I let her sit and idle for a while. That
will usually bring the temperature gauge up to midpoint, but today
(admittedly cool) sitting in the garage, the gauge was reading between a
quarter and half. Encouraging! Unfortunately, Mildred is in
the front of the garage, with the Cougar, truck, and Sonata behind her,
not to mention the salvaged kitchen cabinet behind the Cougar! I'll
have to shuffle things around and get her out on the highway this week.

December 7, 2014 - Bad Timing? -
Five weeks in Africa, a trip to Florida, and a week in DC have all
combined to keep me away from getting cars worked on. Now that I am
home for a while, I am trying to get Mildred's overheating issues sorted
out. Talking with friends in the Tidewater Region AACA,
another potential culprit has been identified. It turns out a bad
distributor can cause overheating by not advancing properly at higher RPMs.
It just so happens that I have a New Old Stock distributor for Mildred
still in the GM box, complete from drive gear to distributor cap.
I'll get it cleaned and adjusted and drop it in. Could be the
radiator was never the issue at all! We'll find out soon.

August 31, 2014 - Shiny, But Still
Hot - After 4 months, I finally got Mildred all back
together with her new center hood chrome strip and ornament, plus all the
cooling system items. The hood paint suffered a bit due to my
occasional clumsiness, but I plan to have her repainted anyway.
However, my initial happiness at having her ready to go was squelched by
the first test drive - she is heating up exactly the same way. This
despite a cleaned radiator, new thermostat and hoses, verified water
pump and distribution tube, and fresh 50/50 antifreeze. Between the
cracked top tank and the total lack of improvement despite a claim that
the radiator was half clogged makes me suspect the radiator shop. At
this point, it looks like a new radiator is required. Oh, well.
At least she got a good bath. And the second removal should be
easier.

August 10, 2014 - Tick Tock -
The weekend was spent on Mildred - I got the radiator back in, cleaned and
reinstalled the water pump, put in the new thermostat and hoses, and
checked her out. Idling for fifteen minutes in the garage, she
stayed at 180, which is the middle of the gauge. Unfortunately, she
also developed a 1-inch seeping crack in the back tank seam, which I have
hopefully fixed with JB weld. Next came the rebuilt clock, which
took more effort than I expected. The glove box had to come out and
there was no wiring for the old clock which was missing parts and
installed for show. I had to remove the FM converter and do some
rewiring of the radio and lights, but the clock is now ticking away.
I also got the hood back on, though the center strip will take some work -
it has a definite bow that makes lining up the mounting holes difficult to
impossible.

August 8, 2014 - Cool Looking
Radiator - I took it to Beach Radiator on the
recommendation of friends in the AACA. The folks there determined
that Mildred's core was about half blocked with crud. However, the
radiator was in excellent shape, having been recored sometime in the past,
and they were able to hot-tank it and get it completely clean inside and
out. They also gave it a nice paint job, so it looks new. I
ordered a new lower radiator hose from California Pontiac Restorations,
and located a NOS Thermostat still sealed in the box on eBay, both of
which arrived before I picked up the radiator this morning. With
luck and some effort, I may get her back together this weekend.

July 27, 2014 - Off With Her Hood! -
I have decided to get the radiator done, and also need to get the new
chrome center and hood ornament installed, so I pulled the hood today.
It looked like it would be an easy job, but after undoing all the bolts I
thought held it on, the front would not budge. So I thought the hood
ornament was holding it on and struggled to undo the ^%#! square nuts
holding it in place. However, just before I got the back one off,
the whole assembly popped free - turns out the front studs were just
binding. Anyway, the hood is off and I can start work removing the
radiator.

June 20, 2014 - Time to Flush? -
I'm looking for a 155-160 thermostat for the Pontiac, but I suspect the
real culprit is the radiator. Kenny had the old one checked and
flushed years ago, but the car has always had an issue running at 55.
I got a call from a friend in the Pontiac club who also has a 1937 Pontiac
6 - running at 55 and pulling a trailer in hilly country puts his temp
gauge at 160-170. Mildred runs normally at 180-190, and heads for
220 when you run at speed. Looks like I need to pull the radiator
and get it checked - and possibly go for a new core (ouchie). Still,
the car is a great driver other than the heating issue, and it's worth it
to get her right.

May
26, 2014 - Hot Head - The Pontiac was running well, but hotter
than normal, during the long Square Car Tour. Even keeping the speed
to no more than 50, she was pushing 210 degrees. I used an infrared
sensor to verify the temperature gauge (it was dead on), and then pulled
the thermostat and flushed the cooling system. No change. Oh,
well. The radiator was redone by the previous owner, but she may
need one with better cooling capacity. She is fine for most driving,
though. I'll start looking for another radiator to get rebuilt for
the future.

May
4, 2014 - Square Deal - After sitting for a few weeks, Mildred
fired right up and was eager to go for my antique car club's annual
'Square Car Tour.' The tour was originally designed to allow cars
from the late teens and twenties to participate. However, increasing
distances and speeds have moved the average car age up a lot.
Mildred was the second oldest. losing out only to a 1935 Chevrolet coupe.
We drove close to 160 miles total including getting to the start, the run
back from Gates County NC, and a side trip to my parents'. She did
great other than some high temps from the extended highway miles. I
have a lot of small things to do for her - the new hood chrome, clock, and
refinished dash face. They were all 'winter' jobs, but it looks like
summertime work now.

March
8, 2014 - 'Sweet' Ride - Stephanie, a girl down the street that
I have watched grow up, asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would driver
her to her Sweet 16 party tonight. Of course I said 'yes', and got
Mildred spiffed up for the event. Many photos were taken around the
car, both before and after the ride. It was fun to have a kid ask
for an old car ride, and Mildred was, of course, perfect.

January 19, 2014 - Time for a Drive -
Mildred hasn't been out of the garage for more than a roll around the
neighborhood in a while, so I gave her a grand tour of about 150 miles
today. We started with a drive out to a friend's farm in Isle of
Wight, then out to Deep Creek for a visit with Kenny and Charlene Roach
(who let me adopt Mildred), the out to Richard Hall's to leave off his
spare nuts (long story, don't ask), then to my parents' and finally back
home. It was cold this morning and I turned on the heat for the
first time. You can bake bread inside the car when you get going!
Mildred ran perfectly and got many waves and honks. It's amazing
how well she rides and drives to be 77 years old!

November 30, 2013 - Right Time,
Wrong Battery - I had a spare clock for Mildred which I sent
off to have rebuilt. It arrived last week with the old parts
(bagged) ready to install. I had restored the face back in August
and included it so it could be installed when the clock was reassembled.
That may be a project for this weekend - I have to pull the glovebox to
get access. However, when I went to start the car yesterday, she
was totally dead. I tried charging the battery to no avail.
The Cougar's battery died just two days ago, but despite thinking I had
replaced it, it was the 6-year-old one that had come in the car.
This time I checked the blog and sure enough, I'd put a new one in on
August 12, 2012. I pulled the battery out, ready to take it back
for a replacement, when I noticed it had a 2008 sticker. Huh?
Turns out that while swapping batteries around at different times, I had
accidently put an old battery back in Mildred and left the new one on
the workbench as a spare. Happily, it was still charged and
Mildred fired right up. Another recent goodie is a hood ornament
that will get sent out for replating.

September 21, 2013 - Scouting Out New
Enthusiasts - Mildred hasn't had much attention the past few
weeks, as the TC had to be readied for the Classics on the Green Show,
and the Cougar is getting prepped for the big Wings and Wheels show next
weekend. However, today we rolled out to the Virginia Beach
Airport to be part of a car display for a visiting Boy Scout Troop.
The Scouts are working on an Automobile Maintenance Merit Badge, and we
had four other antique vehicles (including former garage-mate Eleanor)
on hand. The Scouts really liked Mildred's roomy interior - we got
half the troop crammed inside at one time!

August 25, 2013 - Practically Perfect 'Ps' -
A visit to Richard's in the Pontiac prompted him to roll out his 1935
Packard 120 Club Sedan for a photo. It is interesting to see the
difference of two years. Scroll down to September 2012 and see the
difference between 1937 and 1939. Style was changing quickly in
those days!

August 24, 2013 - More Cleaning and Painting -
I just bought a decal set for the original clock face, and took the
spare clock apart to redo. Once I get the face redone, I'll send the
assembly out to be repaired and then replace Mildred's non-working unit.
I also got busy and painted the 'Silver Streak' that runs from her
grille to firewall . It took several steps - the center grooves
had to be cleaned and primed, then painted black and clear coated.
I used extra-fine steel wool to get the paint off the tops of the ribs.
Then I taped off the top and did the sides. It came out really
well. Now I have to swap it out for the old one.

August 17, 2013 - Junior Hobbyists -
Mildred wasn't afraid fo a few raindrops, and we rolled out to the 22nd
Annual Khedive Car Show for the day. She was very popular, and
garnered some fans well under driving age who were very happy to see her
from the driver's seat. She ran perfectly and drive great, of
course. I decided to change her oil for the first time since I got
her. It's been more than a year and about 1500 miles.
Amazingly, I have not added oil in all that time and she was just a
half-quart low! I decided to paint the replacement filter black to
make it look more like a stock canister and it worked pretty well - you
can hardly see it now. Scroll down to the June 17th entry to see
how much the white filter stood out.

August 13, 2013 - Running Boards!
Work was slow today, so I took a couple of hours off this afternoon to
see what I could get done on the running boards. I'd done some
research online which really paid off. I scrubbed both running
boards down with Whitely's Cleaner, then wiped them down with brake
cleaner. The passenger side was best (above). I filled the
surface cracks with windshield gasket sealer, and after it dried,
painted it with flexible bumper paint. The jury-rigged board it
replaced is above it for comparison. The driver's side was a bit
more of a challenge, as it had a deep crack (right photo) on the outer
edge. I used flexible bumper epoxy repair to fill and seal the
crack, then sanded it down to contour. A coat of flexible
black paint later, and I have a new running board! (Below)
Both are installed and look great. This was an afternoon well
spent!

August 12, 2013 - More stuff!
- The running boards and bumper guards arrived today from Washington -
the running boards are definitely in usable shape, though I'll be doing
some repairs, cleaning and painting before they go on Mildred. The
bumper guards are perfect, just needing the center stripes painted on.
Some tape and satin black paint took care of that, and they bolted on in
a few minutes..

August 12, 2013 - Dash it all -
step 3
- Now for the moment of truth - getting the flat Mylar decals installed
on the contoured plate. I sprayed the plate with Windex and then
set about getting the top decal positioned first. I used tweezers,
a plastic squeegee, paper towels, and a razor blade to get everything in
position as best I could, then worked the Windex out so the adhesive
could grip. I am very pleased with the results so far. I
have to let the rest of the Windex traces evaporate out, and then go
back around the edges for a final seal. Then I can clear-coat the
whole thing for an even surface finish that will blend the edges of the
decals. Even without that, you can barely see them.

August 11, 2013 - Dash it all - step 2
- With the metal cleaned up, I wanted to fix the pitting on the bottom.
I used glazing putty and allowed it to dry a half-day before I went back
with 400-grit sandpaper. Then I cleaned off the plate and applied
the first coat of gray primer. (The original panel was done in an
off-white with a light tinge of gray). The primer revealed some
leftover pitting, so another fine layer of glaze was added and sanded
smooth. The second coat of primer revealed an acceptable surface,
so after waiting until night, I applied the color coat (Honda Frost
White NH538 - Duplicolor BHA0950). I had matched the paint to the
back side of the panel, which still had some relatively clean paint on
it.

August 10, 2013 - Dash it all - step 1
- The first step in restoring Mildred's instrument cluster is stripping
off the old paint. This spare piece means I can take my time, and
more importantly, not risk damaging Mildred's moderately decent dash.
As you can see, it was pretty far gone cosmetically, but is still very
solid underneath. I matched up some paint to the back side, and
then stripped it to bare metal. There is some light pitting in the
metal at the bottom which needs to be repaired.

August 8, 2013 - More Shiny Stuff
- Lots of nice stuff for Mildred is showing up. I picked up the
replated front Silver Streak from Royal Silver, and some nice hubcaps
and restoration decals for the dashboard. And some decent original
running boards should be arriving over the next few days. Lots of work
to get it all done, but nice to have the parts ready to go.

July 20, 2013
- Hazy Days of Summer - I washed and dried Mildred and the Cougar
last weekend and had them both nice and sparkly. I covered them up
to keep them that way, but had an unpleasant surprise Thursday (18th)
when I uncovered them to take Mildred to the car club dinner meeting,
they were both covered with an oily haze that smeared when I tried to
wipe it off. I had to wash both cars today with a strong
dishwashing detergent solution to get the film off, which apparently
came from the car covers! They are impregnated with some sort of
oil to make them waterproof, and it stared breaking down in the heat.
All clean and shiny now, and I also replaced the license plate bracket
in front. It was starting to crack, and I mad a new one from
thicker steel. New lightweight and un-oiled covers are on the way.

July 14, 2013
- Points! - Mildred's performance has been off for a while - I
noticed an occasional stumble when I took her to see our Tidewater
Region friends (including Sophie!) off for the 2013 Lincoln
Highway Tour across country on June 20th. I took her out this
morning and the stumble seemed worse. My first suspicion was
correct - the points had closed up. It's been more than a year and
lots of driving time since I got her, so it was well past time to clean
and adjust. I was surprised to discover the point gap (.020) was
not in the owner's manual, and I had to really search the shop manual to
find it! Anyway, some emery paper and a careful adjustment and
Mildred is full of pep again. I gave her a good bath as well, and
filled the gas tank. All ready to go... somewhere.

July 12, 2013
- More Red - The back emblem looked so much better I decided to
paint the front one as well. It was harder to get to, but I was stubborner than the nut. I should have the center 'streak' for the hood
back from the chrome plater in a week or so.

July 8, 2013
- Playing Games - Back in 1937, prospective Pontiac buyers got more
than a sales folder - the Pontiac Safety Drive Game was a full-featured
board game with little Pontiac sedans (even a red one like Mildred) that
you 'drove' around to earn Pontiac dollars. It promoted safe
driving habits, and of course, the superior Pontiac automobile! I
got just the board a while back, but this game is new and unused in the
original package! Another eBay find.

July 5, 2013
- Bumpers and Seeing Red - Mildred's back bumper has seen better
days - it had a big dent in the middle and the plating had come off part
of the left side. I picked up a replated bumper off eBay a few
weeks ago and finally got it on today. Took some work with the
mounting bracket, as it was bent as well. I also took time to
repaint the trunk nameplate lettering, bumper guard accents, and a much
better Indian Head medallion with correct red inserts. Pretty time
consuming, but the little things make a big difference.

June 17, 2013
- Mildred Moos - One of the only 'treasures' I found at the Richmond
swap meet was a duplicate of the 'Cattle Caller' horn I have on
the Studebaker. These are cable-operated and are designed to sound
like a bellowing cow. I cleaned and painted this one up and was
able to install it using an existing firewall bolt and wiring it into
the existing Town and Country horn power circuit. I was even able
to dig up some cloth-wrapped red wire to match the rest of the harness.
Silly, but fun, and only $15! Plus an 89-cent can of paint.

June 16, 2013
- Positive Follow-Up - I tightened the ground cable, but it felt OK.
So I retightened the negative (power) connection. Between the two,
the connection issue is solved and she starts right up. I also
replaced the hardware on the hood support latch, so she is all back
together.

June 15, 2013
- Road Trip and Trophy! - The fuel filter solved the starting issue,
and Mildred did great except for a few things vibrating loose during
300+ miles on the road today. First up was a trip to an antique
car show in Richmond, VA where Mildred won First Place for 1930s cars.
From there we went to Mineral, VA to visit friends who raise miniature
donkeys. Just after I took the picture with the donkeys, the
electrical system went stone dead! I think it was a loose ground
cable, and the hood prop bolt had also come loose and fallen out!
Guess I need to make the rounds to tighten things up. Except for
that one glitch, the trip was uneventful and Mildred got about 16 mpg!
The speedometer is dead on, and she ran between 190 and 200 degrees,
which I figure is about right..

June 12, 2013
- Fuel Filter - Mildred's previous owners believed in doing
everything right. That includes the fuel filter, which is a fuel
injection type with o-ring seals. No rubber hose and clamps here.
The old one might not be bad but it's one more step in troubleshooting
the slow starting. Naturally, the battery was nearly dead from
lots of cranking earlier and no driving, and she went flat before i
could get her to go. Happily, I keep a fully charged 6-volt
battery on hand and swapped it out. She fired right up with the
fresh battery, so things could be improved.

June 11, 2013 -
Costly Chrome - I dropped the divider off at the local premium
chrome plater - they will build up the pits with copper, fix the few
dings and dents, and provide show-quality chrome - for $275!
Ouchie! While that was painful, the Silver Streak' is a very large
piece of shiny stuff, and having it properly plated will make a big
difference. Considering that I paid $150 to have a horn ring done
for the Studebaker some years back, it is actually.. dare I say
it... a bargain! On a more functional note, Mildred started up
pretty well on her own after I replaced the plugs, but still took a lot
of cranking. I am going to install the NOS pump assembly I have on
hand and see if that helps. Ethanol does bad things to rubber, and
the diaphragm in the current pump may be losing strength.

June 6, 2013 -
Spark Plugs and Sparkle - I'm working through a complete tune-up for
Mildred in hopes of curing the hard starting she recently developed.
First step was easiest - replacing the spark plugs. O'Reilly's had
the correct black base AC plugs in stock, so I checked the gaps and put
them in. The old plugs actually looked fine, but they were a
little rusty and incorrect cadmium plated. I picked up a new
fuel pump rebuild kit and fuel filters for the tune-up at a flea market
in Carlisle PA last weekend, so I should have her sorted out this
weekend. Also today, I got in the new 'Silver Streak' divider for
the hood. Mildred's has a lot of pitting, and removing it is a lot
of work. Plus, platers are notorious for taking their time, and
the car would be out of commission until I got the piece back. I
picked up a spare off eBay some months ago, but it is pretty rough (top
one). I lucked out and found another last week that was almost
useable as-is! However, it has some very minor pitting and areas
where the chrome has worn off, so I'll have it redone.

May 19, 2013 -
Carb Tricks and Car Shows - I decided to take Mildred over to a
nearby car display for the Norfok Rotary Club, but she was not quite in
the mood. First off, the throttle linkage has been hanging up when
you push it all the way to set the choke. I discovered the value
of the easily removable hood side panels, which open up the entire
side really well. I discovered that a linkage rod (highlighted in
red) had gotten bent and was rubbing the inside of the black top cover.
A quick fix with some pliers. But then she did not want to start
in the driveway after I gave her a quick bath, and the battery went
dead. Happily, I had a fully charged spare in the trunk left over
from the Spring Tour and got her going with the help of a shot of
starting fluid. It was a beautiful day despite dire predictions -
I had put a bicycle in the back and rode it home with the intention to
do some work. But I ended up driving the Cougar over instead.
She needed a bit more starting fluid to fire up for the trip home -
something is definitely not right in the fuel system. I may need
to replace filters. In any case, she did well and got lots of
attention.

April 28, 2013 -
Center Stage- As with most glamorous starlets, Mildred only had to
sit there and look good for the film shot. She was placed center
stage while the 1950 Chevy and 1956 DeSoto came sweeping in on either
side of her.

Before leaving for the shoot, I was able to get
her spare engine and transmissions out of the pickup and safely stored
inside. A good thing since it is supposed to rain all this coming
week!

April 27, 2013 -
"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille"- I took some time today to
get Mildred ready for her movie debut in 'Miracle of the Murderers' -
not a major blockbuster to be sure, but you never know who might be the
next Steven Spielberg. The Studebaker got screen time in a
previous shoot - this will be a short pick-up sessions for an additional
scene.

April 26, 2013 -Gifts
from "Mom' and 'Dad'- Mildred's previous 'parents' have been
graciously storing a good spare engine and other parts for me for
almost a year. I took the day off and went over in the
Mazda. Kenny had the engine ready to go on a hoist, as well as
three transmissions, a really nice steering wheel, and some other small
parts that have turned up.

I took a chance on some generic
aftermarket hubcaps from the 1940s on eBay - they were near perfect for
$21.50 for all 4! I'll be taking Mildred out to Portsmouth
on Sunday to be part of a movie shoot! Still need to get the hood
center removed and replated. Where did the winter go?

April 5, 2013 -Another Flea
Market Find- This time I went all the way to Charlotte NC for
the big Charlotte Auto Fair and national car show. It's a huge
event, probably more than half the size of Hershey. However, I
scoured Hershey last October for a hubcap for Mildred and came up empty
handed. Not so this time - I was able to locate a fairly decent
hubcap for $5! Some fine steel wool and polish really brightened
it up, and it has much of the original red paint in the outer rings.
I bought very little this year - wiper blades for the Studebaker and an
air cleaner decal for the Cougar, plus some weird but cheap stuff for
fun (electric power meter for $6)

March 2, 2013 -Flea
Market Find- I drove Mildred to our local antique car club's annual
swap meet today, and lucked out with a correct folding jack handle that
I have needed for a while. I have had the correct jack for a long
time, but the handle you need to operate it. (I keep a hydraulic
jack in the trunk for actual use).

February
23-24, 2013 -Mildred on Tour! - My local antique car club had a tour
to North Carolina this weekend, and I decided it was time to give
Mildred a good run. She had been set up to be a tour car, and our
planned tour last Fall got cancelled. This weekend turned out to
be pretty wet - it rained all day Saturday and some of Sunday, but what
the heck - it rained back in 1937, too. Mildred was by far the
oldest vehicle on the tour, with the next oldest being a 1956 DeSoto.
However, she had no trouble rolling along at the posted speed limits,
and did the entire 220+ mile tour without a single hiccup.
The only issue was the lack of sealant around the windshield - something
I'll take care of before the next wet trip.

January 26 2013 - Goodies for Mildred - I
received the cigarette lighter socket today - pretty good shape, and I
should be able to adapt it for the new power socket I set up for GPS and
cell phone charging. Something else that came in recently was a
1937 Pontiac 'Safety Drive' game board that was given out by dealers.
Sort of like Monopoly, but you drive your Pontiac around town.
Although I just got the board, a friend in the car club thinks he has
all the pieces and cards! It would be fun to set the game up.

January 22, 2013 - So what am I, chopped
liver? - Poor Mildred has been largely ignored due to holiday
activities, a busy work schedule,. and more to the point, the frenzy of
a new stable-mate. However, I have got things rolling to get her
big chrome 'Silver Streak' grille and hood diver replated. I also
just got in new exhaust manifold gaskets to work on a slight leak in the
engine bay. Oh, and I just picked up a correct Pontiac cigarette
lighter housing off eBay!

November 12, 2012 - eBay Goodies - The
tour to Charlottesville got delayed until next year thanks to the rather
rude interruption by a hurricane named Sandy. I've gotten Mildred
out for a couple of short jaunts since, and got in a variety of items
for her from eBay. A nice period key case will take on primary
duties from the original that came with her, and i have a factory dual
heater/defroster control assembly to swap out for the aftermarket
switches. A decent horn button will give me one to play with,
while the radio blanking plate was a waste but was cheap and looked
nice. The big thing was a correct set of headlight rims with trim
rings in good shape (shared with 1937 Olds and Chevys). I forgot
to cancel an eSnipe bid and ended up with a Pontiac set minus the trim,
so i have spares.

October 21,
2012 - Bright lights and 12V power - Mildred and I are off on a tour
to Charlottesville next weekend, and I wanted to improve her forward
lighting and make it possible to have a GPS along. I picked up
halogen bulbs for the headlights and fog lights at Hershey last weekend
- my big purchase of the trip ($94!). However, they really make a
big difference. The brightest incandescents you can get have a
yellowish glow that doesn't go far. I installed the halogens today
and they made a big difference tonight. The other item involved
wiring in an insulated accessory socket to the existing 12-volt
converter than powers the FM radio conversion. It works great, and
means I can use the GPS or charge my cell phone or iPad on the trip! And
I can hide it when it isn't needed.

October 16,
2012 - FBI Film Fest- My car club was asked to provide vehicles to
display outside a theater for the local FBI Citizen's Academy Film Fest.
This year's event featured the gangster films 'Dillinger' and 'The
Untouchables' and Mildred fit right in. Actually, she is too
classy to have been a gun moll, but that didn't stop the costumed staff
from coming out for photo ops.

October 7,
2012 - Rain and Rewards, Part 2- Fall is a risky part of the year
for outside activities - and the second car show in a as many weekends
got rained on all day. I almost didn't go, but decided that it was
for a good cause (Fund raiser for GI Care Packages) and took her out anyway.
Although there were a lot of cars there ahead of us, Mildred impressed
the guy parking cars so much he put us up in front. And just like
last week, she got a nice second place trophy against some impressive
competition.

September 29,
2012 - Rain and Rewards- I had registered Mildred for our big local
Wings and Wheels show, and was glad of it when the day turned wet and
gloomy. I got there early enough to get a nice shot of Mildred
with Chuckie, the B-17 Flying Fortress, before the rain started.
She also earned a second place trophy against some really nice
competition. The car is remarkably nice to drive even in bad
weather - I have her registered for our Fall Tour to Charlottesville at
the end of October - should be a fun trip.

September 2,
2012 - Visiting- Mildred and I did some visiting today - first to
her former home to drop off a computer I'd fixed up for Kenny and
Charlene. I wanted to see the 1914 Saxon that had prompted
Mildred's sale. The little roadster is beautiful, and when they
are done with it, I am sure it will run just as well as Mildred.
They had a box of goodies they'd run across, and found a few more while
I was there! Then it was off to Richard's to drop off some
car show plaques. While I was there, Ken from the car club arrived
in his 1939 Mercury. It's interesting to see the evolution of car
design moving so quickly. The 1937 Pontiac was the first all-steel
body, and you can see how styling evolved in just 2 years.
headlights are part of the fenders and a front-opening hood instead of
the sides that lift. But Mildred is prettier.

August 26,
2012 - On Display- As you can see, the headlight bulb had a rather
complete burnout. I had to go through two of the NOS headlight
bulbs to get one in and working. The wiper issue turned out to be
nothing more than a loose retainer nut on the windshield arm. Even
so, I treated all the glass with Rain-X, something I do to all of the
antiques. Works better than wipers. With everything fixed,
we rolled out to the TRAACA display at Baylake Retirement Community,
postponed from last Sunday due to rain. Happily, the day turned
out to be great despite some threatening clouds, and the residents had a
good selection to view. Mildred was the most beautiful, of course,
but we have to give the other cars credit for showing up.

August 25,
2012 - Neither rain, nor sleet...- Last Sunday's display got rained
out, so my car club's tour of the FantomWorks restoration shop this
morning was
Mildred's first run with her new battery. Naturally, it poured
rain. We sloshed on, though the driver's side wiper linkage
couldn't manage the frantic pace of the wiper motor and the
just-installed (but 70+ years-old) right headlight bulb went bad.
Hmmm - that's even the one I took photos of. Oh, well.
Both are minor issues that will be easy fixes. She ran great,
though. I got a spare left headlight lens in this week, another
eBay treasure that gives me a full set on hand just in case.

August 18,
2012 - Blasted Battery!- I went out this morning to take Mildred to
the show, and the battery was suddenly too weak to crank her over.
I put the charger on and took the truck over so I could get some photos.
After 5 hours of charging, she was still flat. I checked the
battery date code and saw it was more than 5 years old, so I went ahead
and picked up a new one. The car is much happier and started right
up with no fuss. I'll take her to the car display at Baylake Pines
tomorrow. Oh, that's the battery cover for the Pontiac - her
battery lives under the driver's feet!

August 17,
2012 - Lights On- Both the lenses and the refund check arrived
today. The lenses caused a bit of nervousness as the box had one
corner crushed in pretty far. Luckily, the seller had packed them
for war, and they were both perfect. As far as I can tell they
must be NOS - not even small scratches. To make sure they stay
that way, I secured the lenses to the headlight buckets using electrical
tape and then installed the new rims. Not that I don't trust the
new rims, but, well, I don't trust the new rims. I did some adjustment
to fit the rims better and replaced the brass screws with stainless
steel #10-24x1 items from Ace Hardware. All back together and adjusted,
just in time for the Khedive Show tomorrow.

August 13,
2012 - Lenses Found- You might have gotten the idea I was a tad
upset over breaking the headlight lens. I did calm down before I
contacted the seller, at least a little bit. And surprisingly, he
not only offered to replace the defective rim but pay for the
replacement lens as well. I was able to locate a set on eBay and
won them tonight for a total of $139 with shipping. He is sending
me $70 to cover the lens - I can use the rim with a stainless crew and
some minor modifications. I thought about deleting the less than happy
reaction below, but then figured its all part of the car hobby.
Once I get the funds in hand, I'll be leaving positive feedback for the
fellow.

August 8,
2012 - Lights Out - Mildred's headlight rims are a little dented and
rusty, so I decided to spring for a brand new pair of shiny chrome
reproductions on eBay that arrived today. As you can see, things
did not go as planned. I was tightening the ring down, having made
sure it was fully seated and secure. Only to have the tensioning
screw head snap off while the lens was still loose enough to rattle.
The ring sprang apart and the headlight lens hit the garage floor.
Turns out the $%#@! screw was made of brass - WAY too soft for a stress
point. Worse, the lens is a hard to find item used only on 1937
and 38 Pontiac, Olds, Buick, Cadillac, and LaSalle automobiles, with
different lenses for left and right sides. Time to hit eBay
(Though I'd rather hit the guy who sold me the lousy repro rims!)

August 1,
2012 - Light Duty - One of the problems with the old bulb-style
lights is that they aren't very bright. Mildred had the correct
32/32 candlepower headlight bulbs in her, which were maximum brightness
back in many states. However, the Cadillac and LaSalle used a
50/32 candlepower bulb with the same reflectors and lenses. I had
a 37 LaSalle 20 years ago, and sure enough, digging through my garage
turned up not only 4 NOS 50/32 bulbs, but a spare glass lens as well!
Sometimes it really pays to be a packrat. The new bulbs
really make a visible difference. I've also picked up more
eBay treasures: an NOS fuel pump, rough center hood band and
grille section, points, and a new distributor base plate.

July 21, 2012 - Blowing Smoke - OK, even I have to admit this is
one of the weirder things I have done car-wise. However, I was
looking for some interesting 1937 memorabilia to put in Mildred and ran
across this cigarette pack -complete with most of one 75 year-old
cigarette! And since I just installed a factory ashtray, I needed
some period cigarettes, right? This pack was just about the price
of a new one, with free postage, so it's a cheap silliness. I've
driven Mildred a couple of times since the last post - doing great.

July 11, 2012 - Under Cover - Although Mildred lives indoors, she
still gets dusty and since I work on other cars out there, there's
always a chance of scraping or scratching. I was able to get a
really nice, lined car cover off eBay for $52 including shipping.
Not fitted, but it covers the whole car and has good elastic and a soft
fleece lining. It came in today, and I wasted no time trying
it out.

July 11, 2012 - A Shade Off - Well, darn. The paint looked
like a near-perfect match comparing the lid to the car, and even in the
garage the match looked good. But out in the sunlight the wheels
are obviously lighter. Oh, well, they look better than the black
did, and when I find the right color I can just respray instead of having
to strip them again.

July 11, 2012 - Lettering - I blasted and primed the last wheels
tonight - three are painted and came out surprisingly well, though I got
trash in the color coat of the spare wheel and will redo that one.
Anyway, all of the wheels will be done tomorrow, and I decided to
re-letter the hubcaps tonight while I was waiting for the compressor to
build pressure. The indented 'Pontiac' is supposed to be painted
red, but none of the hubcaps on the car still had any paint on them.
It took a bit of experimenting, but all four hubcaps now have the
lettering painted in. Not perfect if you get close, but unless you
squat down and stare they look pretty nice. I'll probably hold off
on painting the red color stripe until I can rig a rotating jig to mount
the wheels on.

July 9, 2012 - Prime Time - An attempt to paint the center
of the spare wheel directly ended up with curdled paint. I had to
media blast the old paint back to bare metal and then applied a coat of
self-etching primer. On the bright side, I was able to verify the
paint scheme yet again as I stripped back to remnants of the original
paint and trim stripe. Basically, the entire center ridge was
painted the trim color, or red in this case. I have to wait until
tomorrow to do the color coat. If it turns out good, I'll try to
get the rest of the wheels sandblasted and painted with the body color
inserts by Friday night. I have a car club event to take her to on
Saturday.

July 8, 2012 - Switched On - I got the NORS (New Old Replacement
Stock) fog light switch in Friday and installed it this morning.
It is an exact match to the heater switch, as you can see in the photo.
I wired it in using correct fabric wire and used black heat shrink to
disguise the modern connectors. Not only do the fog lights work,
the switch itself illuminates when they are one. The next step is
to relocate the FM converter, and also wire in an accessory lighter that
I can run using the voltage inverter. That will give me a 12-volt
negative ground power port for GPS and iPhone adapters. Then I
took the car over to Advance and brought out an armful of paint cans to
compare, looking for the right color to paint the wheels. The
near-perfect match was Ford Toreador Red Metallic. Then I went
back home and pulled the spare tire to experiment with. Initial
sanding revealed the original color band just outside the hub cap area.
Pontiac used a number of paint schemes. Base models had black
wheels with the trim/stripe color band outside the hubcap. Deluxe
models had body color centers out to the rim, which was still black, and
the color band. I need to bead blast Mildred's wheels and use a
good etching primer, then do the body color and finally the red stripe.
A red double pinstripe goes down the side molding, but I plan to get
that professionally done. However, it's 96 out with a heat index
of 106. I'm done for the day, at least for anything outside!

July 4, 2012 - Dash-ing Good Looks! - Mildred's glove box door
(top left0 was somewhat mottled and did not match the rest of the dash.
I was able to get another glove box door with the original factory
ashtray (bottom left) off eBay, along with a painted reproduction
ashtray. The woodgraining on both the door and the ashtray had
gone nearly black, but some careful use of polish, 400 grit sandpaper,
and some clear enamel brought it all out very nicely. I use the
shiny new sliding door from the repro ashtray and put together a very
nice looking package that is now in the car. I also got the fog
lights wired in with correct fabric-covered wire. Just need the
switch, which was ordered and should be here by the weekend. Oh,
and I got an original jack and hand crank in yesterday as well!
Both eBay finds, of course.

July 2, 2012 - More Bling! - My big 'bling' purchase was a set of
reproduction Pontiac Fog Lights from California Pontiac Restoration
parts. These are duplicates of the original factory options, with
individual bulbs and reflectors. Sealed beams, which are much
easier to find, did not come into use until 1940. I was able to
use the original Options catalog to determine how to position the
lights, but the license plate was in the way and had to be removed.
I was able to relocate the plate by making a 'U' bracket that
attached to the back of the center emblem. An interesting reminder
of just how old this car is came in the form of the hand crank hole
hidden behind the emblem. (You can see it at the top center of the
bumper) Yep, in 1937, people still figured you needed to be able to hand
crank your engine. And yes, I have a hand crank coming!

June 28, 2012 - Bling! - With pretty much nothing needed
mechanically, I've been free to plunder eBay for jewelry to present
Mildred with. One of the first and best buys was a set of perfect
stainless trim rings (including a 5th for the spare) for $49. They
really dress up the wheels. Ironically, the one practical item I
needed, the spare tire clamp and bolt, came free with some other parts I
bought from a generous fellow. Then I got a reproduction GM
locking gas cap to replace one with no plating and only one key. I
have lots of parts in hand or due in now - also, original literature
like factory shop manuals. I may regret buying some of the 'spare'
stuff later - I always go crazy when I buy a car, but it's hard to pass
up parts for a 75 year-old car when they come available cheap.
I've driven Mildred several times this week, and she has been flawless.

June 19, 2012 - PONT 37 - Mildred's personalized plates came in
today and we went for a drive to celebrate. eBay goodies are rolling in
already - an original Pontiac glovebox-sized repair manual, NOS Pontiac
brackets for driving lights, spare points, etc. I have a research
request in to the AACA Library for the correct trim color and style for
the pinstripe and wheels, and plan to pick up some 16" trim rings for
the wheels.

June 11, 2012 - Officially mine - Mildred is titled, tagged, and
insured in my name as of today, though I have to admit I took her for a
run Saturday. I also did my first work on her - faulty turn
signals turned out to be a bad flasher unit, which I had in stock.
She'll have 'PONT 37' for license plates when they come in. I've
already started getting things on eBay, though Mildred came with many
literature items I would have gone searching for.

June 8, 2012 - And HOME! - Mildred has a new human, and I have a
'new' family member in the garage. Neighbor John followed me over
in the truck tonight and we gathered many boxes of parts and literature.
The spare drive train will have to wait for another day. After an
exchange of cashier's check for signed title and Bill of Sale, we rolled
back on I-64. I kept the speedometer about 60, and John conformed
that was what the truck's speedometer was showing. Mildred ran
straight and true, and I even listened to the radio for a while.
She is a pleasure to drive, and I love the color. Now to start
reading all of the literature that came with her!

June 4, 2012 - Coming Soon to a Garage Near Me (Mine) - I've been
wanting to get back into a prewar car for a long time, but also wanted to
have something that was relatively practical for driving on tours.
That meant power enough for 55 mph Interstates and hydraulic brakes.
And, with apologies to MG TCs Wildflower and Eleanor, a car I could drive
without any bodily contortions. Several possibilities have shown up,
including a really nice 1940 Buick Super. But I also wanted something
with running boards. Enter Mildred, a lovely 1937 Pontiac sedan that I
have seen on many of our local club tours. Her current humans are
venturing into brass car territory, and just listed her for sale last week.
I was interested, and went over tonight for a closer look and a test drive.
She has a new interior, all new rubber, new wiring harness, and a nice paint
job in almost exactly the color I chose to paint my long-departed Packard
coupe. So far, so good. Then I drove her - wonderfully smooth
transmission, enough power to be comfortable at 55, and good hydraulic
brakes. And she comes with a large assortment of spares, including an
engine, transmission, steering box, and too many others to list. In
short, she is the perfect answer to my desire for a prewar car. And of
course, I bought it. Well, I have committed to buying it. We're
both juggling funds and garage space, but Mildred should be in my garage
soon.